The Georgia Theatre
By Kelsey Dubus Athens, Georgia is a diverse college town filled with culture. Unique local businesses provide Athens with a one-of-a-kind experience that is hard to find in other college towns. The varied music scene allures numerous bands and avid music lovers. One of the most renowned Athens’ venues is the Georgia Theatre. Bands of all different genres of music come from all over to play the theatre. The theatre attracts a very unique crowd to Athens and does not tend to disappoint the concertgoers. The Georgia Theatre is a fixture of Athens and is essential to Athens culture. History Before the Georgia Theatre became a concert venue in 1988, the building served a multitude of other purposes. In 1889, the Georgia Theatre was a YMCA. The Theatre gained its first connection with music when a music store became the bottom level of the building, while the YMCA occupied the second and third floors in 1913. The Elite Theater took over the building in 1935 and began showing movies. At one point, the United Methodist Church used the building as a place of worship in the 1960’s. It wasn’t until “Sam Smartt, Hap Harris, George Fontaine and Sheffy McArthur teamed up to open the Georgia Theatre as concert hall” that the theatre first got it’s start. (“Georgia Theatre”). In 1981, The Georgia Theatre closed for a brief period and time and was re-opened as a movie house. The Carafe and Draft Theater lasted seven years until Kyle Pilgrim and Bill Duck Anderson bought the building in hopes of turning the Georgia Theatre into a concert venue once again. Lanny Weir, the manager at the time “didn’t want the Georgia Theatre to be just a rock theater. We hope to book country and western acts, gospel groups as well as plays.” The Georgia Theatre has since housed numerous concerts by local and famous bands and serves as a landmark in downtown Athens. The Fire and Rebuilding of the Theatre After countless shows and becoming essential to rock history, the Georgia Theatre burned down on June 19, 2009 to unknown causes. According to the RedandBlack newspaper, the theatre “lost its roof and suffered massive internal damage.” “The fire was fueled mainly by the contents of the building itself” according to Athens-Clarke County Emergency Management Coordinator Chuck Gulley. Wilmot Greene, the owner of the Georgia Theatre, planned to rebuild the iconic theatre with help from a capital campaign to cover the costs. The Theatre now has a capacity of 1,000 compared to its original capacity of 600 in the old building. After the fire, “The most important aspects of the old Theatre – the marquee, the sloped floor and the curtains – remain, with the addition of modern amenities such as an elevator and twice as many bathrooms” (“redandblack.com”). After two years of raising funds and construction, the Theatre finally re-opened on August 1, 2011. The Glands, a local Athens band, played the first show in the theatre on August 2 to a full house. Bands Many famous bands have come out of Athens, Georgia and have treated the Georgia Theatre as their concert “home.” The theatre has given many bands footing to enter into the music world. In particular, R.E.M. and the B-52’s gained massive successive outside of Athens, Georgia, where they first got their start. “Formed on an October night in 1976 following drinks at an Athens, GA, Chinese restaurant,” The B-52’s are one of the Athens first bands to gain national recognition musically (“theb52s.com”). They played local venues, as well as spots in New York. The B-52’s became the first band based out of Athens to gain national prominence after they started recording albums. R.E.M. soon followed in the B-52’s footsteps, becoming the next band to make it big out of Athens. R.E.M. Four University of Georgia dropouts, Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Bill Berry started the band R.E.M.. They first gained recognition in Athens, GA with local fraternities serving as a fan-base. They began touring around the South and started drawing quite the crowd at venues. Whenever the band came back to Athens to play the Georgia Theatre, and other local venues, they always drew a large crowd. R.E.M. began to gain a national following and went on to become a critically acclaimed rock-band. They remained true to their Athens roots despite the rise to fame and continued to come back to play the Theatre. On October 16, 2001, “R.E.M. played an unannounced show the Georgia Theatre at a fundraiser for Community Connection” (“Georgia Theatre”). “They even named their 1994 Grammy nominated album, “Automatic for the People,” for the ubiquitous slogan that appears over the entrance to Weaver D’s,” a local restaurant located right on the edge of Downtown Athens (“DixieDining.com”). R.E.M.’s success runs deep through Athens’ music scene. Why Go To The Georgia Theatre? The Georgia Theatre has been an essential focal point in downtown Athens for almost thirty years. Bands and concertgoers alike come from all over to experience the Theatre. Local college students love going to the Theatre because “It is a place where I know I will see a kick-ass show and get to be there with some great friends while we make incredible memories in the best college town around,” according to Jarrod DeLoach, a fifth year senior at UGA. Patrick Dubus, also a fifth year senior here at UGA says, “The Georgia Theatre epitomizes Athens and its vibrant music scene. It has the ability to draw big name acts here, even though it is a tiny college town and a relatively small to midsized venue. A lot of the downtown businesses (Bars, restaurants) really depend on the theatre being open. You could see how everyone was affected when it burned down and how successful the neighboring businesses are when its open. Athens became such a renowned college town, because of the Theatre. It defines downtown Athens and the unique culture that exists here.” Even those who have not attended the Georgia Theatre, such as Erin Sikorski, a freshman, have hopes of attending the theatre someday – “It’s just such a staple of Athens culture that I want to experience at least once during my time here at UGA.” “What makes the Georgia Theatre a special venue is its rich history and all the people that have been a part of it,” says Courtney Flynn, a recent graduate of the University of Georgia. “The artists are just as excited to be at the venue as the fans, and it makes for an electric atmosphere every time.” The Georgia Theatre is a venue that is essential to maintaining the vibrant culture of Athens and will continue to be a focal point of downtown for years to come. Works Cited “About the B-52’s.” The B-52’s. Web. 6 November 2011. @GaTheatre. “Please Allow Me To Re-Introduce Myself.” Georgia Theatre. Web. 25 October 2011. @GaTheatre. “The Georgia Theatre After the Fire.” Georgia Theatre. Web. 25 October 2011. “Automatic For the People.” Dixie Dining. Web. 6 November 2011. “Georgia Theatre Plans Approved.” Red and Black. Web. 25 October 2011. “History.” Georgia Theatre. Web. 25 October 2011. Ian Rawn. Railroad Earth Show At the Georgia Theatre.” Georgia Theatre. Web. 25 October 2011. Interview with DeLoach, Jarrod. Interview with Dubus, Patrick. Interview with Flynn, Courtney. Interview with Sikorski, Erin. “Legendary Georgia Theatre Burns.” Red and Black. Web. 25 October 2011. “REM Biography.” Band Biographies. Web. 6 November 2011. Category:Local Music